African-American dinner: Eat ethnic food Saturday in Rockford

ROCKFORD — Nourishment eaten in solid form. That’s food at its simplest. But there’s so much more. Food touches everything important to people — family traditions, social bonding and our very identities.

But there’s so much more. Food touches everything important to people — family traditions, social bonding and our very identities.

“Food brings people together as family and friends,” said Zina Horton, who is cooking up a bunch of edibles for a meal with African-American roots.

Horton, owner of Sweet Ambrosia Desserts and Catering, will prepare and serve fried chicken, turnip and mustard greens, corn bread, candied yams, and a Butter Roll dessert for an event Saturday at Midway Village Museum.

The “From Africa to America: An Experience in Culture Through Food” is the first in a series of dinners offered so those who attend can learn about different cultures through the dining experience. A talk by a Rwandan genocide survivor also is part of the evening.

The dinners were inspired by the museum’s new-this-year “Many Faces, One Community” exhibit about Rockford’s immigrant groups.

“We ate from the land,” Horton said, recalling her family’s rural southern background. And nothing went to waste.

The Butter Roll she’ll make came from her ancestors in Alabama, she said. “When the ‘greats’ would make biscuit dough, they would use leftovers to make a Butter Roll,” she said. It’s similar to bread pudding, but with custard underneath.

“It’s a very old-fashioned recipe that younger people have never heard of, unless you’re from down south,” she said.

Horton sold sample-sized portions of the dessert at the Rockford City Market this year.

“I sold dozens of little cups, and people would order (a pan) to serve to family,” she said.

She sells the Butter Roll for $15. It serves eight people. If you’d like to order one for Thanksgiving, or other fixings for the holiday, call her at 815-962-9185 by Nov. 13.